


Oh, Haven't You Heard?

by selkieskins_and_mermaidfins



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrichat, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Identity Reveal, M/M, Oblivious Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Oblivious Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Reveal, im so sorry, number one trending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:35:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23714488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/selkieskins_and_mermaidfins/pseuds/selkieskins_and_mermaidfins
Summary: Adrien panic-googles himself when he's led to believe his classmates might be on to his secret, only to find. . . something much worse, and then decide it's not that bad a cover-up of his identity, when you think about it.-----aka, Adrien jokingly ships adrichat, Marinette jokingly ships maribug in retaliation, and everyone—including myself—learns that doing things jokingly is a slippery slope to doing things for real. . .
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 25
Kudos: 321





	1. Adrichat?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> adrien learns what adrichat is, and decides it's a pretty convenient cover-up for his identity, is it not?
> 
> also, marinette freaks out, just a tad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you opened my fic! im so terribly sorry but also, I promise there's at least a little plot on the way (I promise!)

_“Adrien and Chat Noir seem pretty close, don’t they?”_

One short, innocent conversation was all it had taken to drain the color from Adrien’s face, before the school day had even started. Hours later, as he flung himself onto his bed in true Disney-princess fashion, he replayed the five minutes before the morning bell rang over and over in his mind.

_“I’m just saying, Adrien and Chat Noir always seem to be in the same place at_ almost _the same time.”_ Those had been the first words Adrien had heard walking into the classroom, and that alone would have probably been enough to get him faking a stomach ache for the rest of the hour to avoid first period, but not to worry—the rest of the conversation _definitely_ gave him a real one.

_“Think about it: Adrien runs into a building, Chat Noir leaves. Chat Noir fights a villain in a park, Adrien is sitting on a bench ten minutes later!”_

_“Last week I saw Chat sitting up on one of Adrien’s perfume billboards, and it just felt so. . . you know. . .”_

_“It’s like Marinette and Ladybug, but weirder!”_

Adrien had stood in the doorway for a few minutes, but when he’d heard that last one, he couldn’t help but snap his head up. _(Reflex, he reasoned to Plagg, at hearing his Lady’s name.)_

But Marinette must’ve been flustered at being singled out so suddenly, because— _bless her_ —she’d only taken a second before stammering out, _“But—Ladybug and I are friends, so maybe it’s not too weird, right?”_ And only then had Adrien been able to breathe again, because, that’s right, being friends with a superhero isn’t that weird, right? _Right?_

Still, he’d waited for Miss Bustier to come walking down the hallway before he’d gone into the class, just in case they tried to drag _him_ into that particular discussion. 

Which left him here: lying across his bed, desperately trying to convince himself that no one could possibly be onto him, while Plagg lazily glided over him. 

“Kid, I can practically hear your thoughts over the taste of this camembert,” the kwami complained as he ate his millionth slice of the day. “Relax before you ruin my whole meal!”

Adrien groaned into his pillow, smushing his face as far as it would go. “ _Plagg!_ I can’t relax! You were there, you heard everybody!” He was whining, he could feel it, but he also felt that teenaged superheroes were entitled to a little whining every now and then. Also, this was _important_. “What if they figure out who I am?” 

Plagg swallowed one last bite of his cheese, settling down on Adrien’s head. “Nah, if they haven’t figured it out yet, they never will. They think it’s all just coincidence!” he finished, laughing.

“Listen to me! This is serious!” Adrien exclaimed, flinging his head up so suddenly that Plagg flew into the wall. His eyes darted around as he dug his hands through his hair (there were no modeling sessions planned for the day, so it was okay). “They were so close! If they’ve already connected Chat sightings with me, then the next step. . .” 

Just as Plagg righted himself, Adrien whipped his head around so fast it sent the kwami crashing right back into the headboard. 

_“What if they already know?”_

Plagg rolled his eyes, flitting around Adrien’s head to reassure him that _it’s fine, no one knows, if anyone did know Tikki would have killed me by now_. 

Adrien didn’t even stop to ask who Tikki was, he just sprang up from his bed, making a run for his computer. He tripped twice on the way over—once, over nothing, and the second time, over his limited-edition genuine (replica) Ladybug yo-yo—and nearly knocked over his chair as he threw himself into it. He got his password wrong ( _catpunsarepawsome$_ ) and slowed down to take a breath only when he nearly crushed Plagg, who’d spread himself over the keyboard.

“Woah, kid, watch it!” he squeaked ( _kwamis do not_ squeak, _Adrien_ ), batting his hand away. “Calm down. What were you even going to do?”

“Google. . . myself?”

Plagg closed his eyes, taking a second to curse Master Fu for giving him this one instead of the girl. _I bet Marinette doesn’t act like this. I bet she bakes sweet treats for Tikki and is never irrational like this even though people talk about her and Ladybug all the—_

“That’s it!”

“What’s. . . it?”

“Marinette!” Marinette was probably the answer to a lot more problems than just this one, but that was an issue for later. “Marinette is friends with Ladybug, right? And no one accuses her of being Ladybug.”

“Yeah, but that’s because Marinette obviously isn’t Ladybug,” Adrien chuckled, comparing his Lady and his classmate in his head. True, Marinette was incredibly brave and confident whenever he was around her as Chat Noir, and they did strike a passing resemblance, and he did _really_ like both of them, but. . . _nah, they’re totally different people_. 

Plagg looked absolutely murderous, but he just sighed. “That’s what I’m _saying_. Just cause they think you and, well, super-you are close doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world.”

Adrien took a second to think this over. His kwami had a point—if Marinette had a superhero friend, why couldn’t he? He was a famous model after all, and Chat’s suit _was_ pretty fashionable. “You’re probably right, but. . . I still want to check.” At Plagg’s look, he added, “I’m calm, I promise. It’ll be quick.”

His kwami simply let out an exaggerated breath, getting up off the keyboard and grumbling something about _find more camembert_ and _I bet Tikki’s never had to do this_. 

Much less frantic now, Adrien managed to actually log on this time, taking one last second to convince himself everything was probably fine before opening up a search bar and typing in, _Adrien Agreste Chat Noir_. 

His eyes widened as he looked through the first few entries.

“Hey, Plagg, what exactly did you mean by ‘close’?”

\-----

The next day, Adrien didn’t hesitate before walking into the classroom. Which, as resident Adrien superfan-slash-soft-stalker, was something Marinette noticed while trying to pretend she hadn’t, in fact, noticed a thing at all. 

(But if she _were_ paying close attention, she definitely would have noted that he seemed more self-confident than usual. But only _if_ she were paying attention, which she _definitely wasn’t, Alya_.)

Her attention was quickly dragged away from the boy in front of her, though, as Alya held up her phone to Marinette’s face to show her the latest _Ladyblog_ post. 

“Girl, look at how many views this has already!” she exclaimed, lowering the phone to scroll down to a video post. “Thanks again for scoring me that interview with Ladybug.”

“No problem, Alya, really,” Marinette said, because it really wasn’t a problem. “I guess sometimes it’s good to know the local heroes.”

“And _I_ guess sometimes it’s good to have a super-awesome best friend who knows the local heroes.”

Recently, Marinette had been trying to really push the idea that she and Ladybug were actually friends. After word started spreading that she and her spotted alter-ego must be connected in some way, Tikki and her decided that a little damage control was in order. Specifically, she needed to convince people that the ties between the two of them were simply from a strong, trusting friendship, no secret-identity-strings attached.

Her fake-friendship with Ladybug was unusual, because it operated on two conditions: one, she, as Marinette, was very diligent in letting people know it wasn’t up to her to share Ladybug’s secrets. And two: neither her nor Chat could _actually_ have real, _deep_ friendships outside of each other (and occasional other heroes). 

Which was why it caught her off guard when Nino joined in with, “Okay, I know Mari and Ladybug are the super-friendship to beat around here, but guys, consider: _Adrichat_.”

Okay, new list: one, she hoped Tikki heard that, because Marinette knew she’d be proud to hear how casual the fake friendship was now. And, two:

“What the _fuck_ is _Adrichat?_ ”

\-----

_Funny_ , thinks Adrien as the words leave Alya’s mouth (and less offensive ones leave Marinette’s). _That’s exactly what Plagg said yesterday_.

\-----

Marinette was glad Alya had phrased it so eloquently, because, her sentiments _exactly_. 

“Nino, really, what does that even _mean?_ ”

Obviously, the _Adri_ part of that. . word. . meant Adrien—they’d all suffered enough _Chloe_ to recognize that prefix anywhere. But the _chat_ part? Chat as in. . _Chat Noir?_

Because she knew the rules. No close friendships. And, sure, she had this whole Marinette-Ladybug thing going, but surely Chat Noir was smart enough not to do that _for real_ , right?

Or maybe. . . Adrichat as in. . . an _identity reveal?_ Is that what Nino meant?

. . .

_No, don’t be silly, Marinette. Of course not_.

Her mini freakout-session—and Alya and Nino’s bickering over “stupid terminology”—came to a halt when Adrien decided to speak up in a weirdly-sure voice.

“Oh, Adrichat, right? Like me and Chat Noir?” He was not-quite smirking, and Marinette might have found that expression out of place _(yet strangely familiar?)_ on Adrien were it not currently _doing things_ to her.

Alya looked like she couldn’t quite decide whether to ask him how he could have _possibly_ known what Nino was talking about, but also—

“Is it true, then? Are you guys really friends? How close are you?” Alya gushed, won over by her constant desire to make connections to Paris’s superhero population. 

The smirk deepened, before falling off Adrien’s face completely. Almost immediately, it was replaced by a shy smile and a slight blush— _blush!_ —and Marinette was certain this was how she’d die. 

_Here lies Marinette, killed by the effects of Adrichat on cute model_.

“You—you actually know Chat Noir?”

_She lived as she died—an absolute mess_.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Adrien said, laughing as he scratched at the back of his neck. “We talk sometimes. Isn’t he so cool?” His blush deepened, eyes meeting each of theirs in turn before ducking down, readying the killing blow—

“And kinda cute, too. . . almost _dreamy_.”

Yep, it was official. Marinette was _dead_. 

\-----

“You have _got_ to be kidding me! Adrien! Chat Noir—”

“He _is_ pretty dreamy, though, don’t you think so, Plagg?”

_“You! Are! Chat Noir!”_

\-----

It had been _three_ days since Adrien let slip that comment about thinking Chat Noir was “dreamy”, and, needless to say, Marinette was. . .

In a weird place right now.

“On one hand, Tikki, I’m of course so happy for him, because, like, he’s my partner, and I of course want him to be happy,” Marinette went over for the thousandth time, pacing back and forth across her room while her kwami watched from the bed.

“Of course.”

“And Adrien has the right to be with who he chooses, obviously.”

“Obviously.”

“And yes, okay, I’m a little upset about it, because it’s _Adrien_ , but I _do_ have a right to be at least a little sad, right?”

“Right.”

“But _Chat Noir!_ Why didn’t he _tell me!_ Even if they’re not together—yet—oh my god, _yet_ , what if they get together?” Marinette paused to picture how simultaneously amazing and deeply horrible that would be. “But _still!_ We’re a team! He should’ve told me!”

She slumped down onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling before covering her face.

“And I—I thought—I really thought Chat Noir. . .”

Tikki floated up from her spot next to Marinette’s head, prying away her hands. “Marinette, I know this is. . . a lot. But you need to take a second and think about this.”

Marinette lifted her head, and Tikki slipped a pillow underneath before coming back to sit in Marinette’s now-cupped palms. “I’m sure Chat Noir isn’t meaning to hide anything from you.”

Marinette sighed, closing her eyes and letting her head fall back against the cushion. “I know, Tikki, and. . . I trust him.”

“But?”

“But. . .” She took a deep breath, and another, until she realized she was doing it to keep herself from crying. “But I just—Chat Noir said he loved Ladybug. Do you—do you think he was lying?”

When she opened her eyes again, the look Tikki was giving her was so soft and—empathetic? sad? _pitiful?_ — that Marinette couldn’t hold back all her tears anymore, and a few got through. Which _wasn’t fair_ , because she’d rejected Chat, hadn’t she? That was all her fault. And she had Adrien, anyway, but. _Did she_ have Adrien?

_Could she_ have Adrien anymore, or was it too late at all?

“Marinette, I think. . . I don’t think Chat was lying, but I also think you shouldn’t focus too much on this,” her kwami said, softly. “I think you should talk to him.” Quietly, so quietly Marinette was sure she wasn’t meant to hear, she added, _“And ask Plagg what he thinks his holder is doing.”_

“But you heard Adrien. If they really _are_ close, then how do I know it’s not too late?”

Tikki laughed, not meanly, just— _knowingly_. “Too late for what, Marinette?” _Too late for who?_

The only problem was, Marinette didn’t have the answer to that just yet. 

All she knew was one: Chat had kept something from her. Two: she was definitely jealous for at least _one_ involved party, if not possibly _both_.

The third point to her new list wouldn’t hit her until much later that night, once Tikki had already curled up on her pillow by Marinette’s head and no one was awake to stop her.

_Three: maybe I could make_ them _jealous of_ me.

\-----

“Hey, Alya, isn’t Ladybug, like, _super hot?_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter: maribug (payback's a bitch)


	2. Maribug.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> payback's a bitch

In hindsight, there were probably far better ways of going about this issue, but it had been the better part of a week since Adrien’s comment on his. . . _attraction_ to Chat Noir, and Marinette’s brain could handle only so much _Adrichat_ imagery before losing it completely.

Also, she wouldn’t say that things this week had been _awkward_ around Chat, per say. But. Yesterday during patrol, her partner had stopped on a rooftop directly in front of a certain perfume ad, and the side-by-side was just. . .

_“Why are you looking at me like that? Are you okay, M’lady? M’lady?”_

. . .a bit too perfect.

 _But it’s okay, Tikki_ , she’d said that morning before leaving for school. _I’ll just have to show them how perfect_ I _am for_ Ladybug. 

And so she had slid into her seat, turning to Alya with a cheeky grin and saying _just_ loud enough, _“Hey, Alya, isn’t Ladybug, like_ , super hot? _”_

What she _wasn’t_ expecting was her friend to immediately whip out her phone, opening up her camera roll before looking Marinette _dead in the eye_ and saying, “Oh, _definitely, so hot_ , right?”

Marinette was pretty certain a tiny part of her soul died in that moment. She was also pretty certain that Alya had just opened a photo collection labeled _ladybug’s sweet, sweet ass_.

Tikki had been very against this plan _(Marinette! You need to think this through! Are you really prepared to talk about yourself like that?)_. Maybe she should have listened, but it was too late now.

And, _no_ , she was doing this for a _reason_. No choice but to see this _through_. 

Marinette forced on a smile as Alya scrolled through an alarmingly long list of pictures of her superhero self and her, well, _the label really is self explanatory, isn’t it?_

But still, no matter how often or loudly she agreed with Alya, the row in front of them remained silent, dead, absolutely _nothing_. Nino, she understood, considering he and Alya _were_ dating, after all—he’d probably been through this album hundreds of times (which, okay, _not_ a comforting thought, but, _priorities, Marinette, focus_ ). 

As for Adrien, though?

 _No reaction! Nothing at all!_ Marinette’s enthusiasm faltered for a split second, and she sighed, before fixing a much more reserved, shy look on her face.

 _Time for the big guns_. 

Flustered stammer? _Ready_.

Blush? _Check_. 

Baby-doll eyes? _Always_.

She reached out to tap on a much less. . . _suggestive_ picture, before letting out the most longing sigh she could manage _(the secret? Mental mixture of Adrien’s eyes and Chat Noir’s laugh—does the trick every time)_. 

“She’s just so _brave_ ,” she swooned (now picturing Chat fighting). “Do you—” _Pause for dramatic effect_. “Do you think I’d ever have a chance with someone like her?”

Alya’s head snapped up so violently that Marinette was genuinely worried that she might actually have broken it, and even Nino spared a glance back at her (giving her a quick thumbs up). 

Adrien simply kept up his conversation with Nino, didn’t even skip a beat. 

Marinette _screamed_. Or, at least she _would have screamed_ , if it weren’t for that sudden gleam in Alya’s eye (and a surprising lack of confusion, considering her best friend knew better than anyone how incredibly obsessed Marinette was with Adrien). 

“Oh, now what is this?”

\-----

“You know what, Tikki? That third picture Alya showed me? _Not bad_.”

“Marinette, that was you. You do know that was you, right?”

\-----

“Plagg! Did you _hear her?_ ” Adrien exclaimed as soon as he reached his room. “Marinette thinks Ladybug is _hot!_ ”

His kwami left Adrien’s shirt in search of cheese—he was definitely going to need it—grumbling, “ _So?_ You do, too, and you don’t see me freaking out about it.”

“You don’t get it! What if Marinette _really_ has a crush on _Ladybug?_ ”

Adrien was _dying_. Well, actually, to be fair, he’d been dying since the beginning of school, when he’d had to sit there and _listen to his princess gush about his Lady_. 

It had been pure _agony_ , and he didn’t know if he was more jealous of Marinette stealing his Lady, or—more strangely—his Lady stealing Marinette. He’d put all his effort into remaining calm, though he’d almost broken when Marinette had asked Alya what her chances were. 

There was the flustered stammer, blush, baby-doll eyes, _everything_. 

It had, quite literally, nearly killed him.

“I don’t see what the big deal is,” Plagg said from his desk drawer— _camembert stash #4_ —despite the fact that he _quite obviously saw what the big deal was_ and Adrien quite obviously did _not_. “So what if the girl’s got a thing for Ladybug? Doesn’t mean it’s gonna go anywhere, and besides, you know how strict Ladybug is with limiting her relationships.” 

_Not to mention Marinette and Ladybug are the_ same _person_. 

“Yeah, but—” Adrien stopped short. Why _did_ it matter? Obviously Ladybug would never date a civilian, and just because Marinette might have a thing for her didn’t automatically mean his Lady felt the same. 

And, it’s not like Marinette’s crushes were any of his concern, right?

So why did he feel so. . . _weird?_

Plagg nearly dropped his cheese, guessing as to his holder’s thoughts as they played out on his face. _Yes, yes, you’ve almost got it!_

Suddenly, Adrien’s face cleared, and Plagg actually _did_ drop his cheese at that look of total clarity. 

“Wait, I’ve got it! Of course Ladybug would never date Marinette, so I must just be concerned for her _as a friend!_ Don’t want her to get her heart broken, of course!”

_“Are you fucking kidding me?!”_

\-----

“Okay, Tikki, picture it: Ladybug perched on a rooftop, lit only by the soft glow of the moon and amber streetlamps, her midnight hair fluttering in the breeze. Super dreamy, don’t you think?”

“You— _you mean Ladybug, dreamy, as in yourself?_ ”

\-----

Ladybug arrived at their meeting place a few minutes early, going through her loose script-not-script in her head while also possibly hoping Alya was out somehow to grab a picture of her sitting here. 

_Okay, Marinette, you’ve got this. Just gotta ask Chat what he thinks of Marinette. Easy breezy_.

She heard Chat Noir land on the rooftop behind her, and she stayed sitting, waiting for him to swing his legs out over the roof next to her own. 

_Just seeing if anything's different, that's all_.

It was quiet for a bit, before Marinette decided _no time like the present_.

“Hey, Chat?”

“Yes, Bugaboo?” She smiled at the silly nickname, in spite of herself, and tried to channel that look into what she was about to say.

“What do you think of Marinette Dupain-Cheng?”

It might have just been the dim lighting, but she _swore_ the color drained from her partner’s face. _Huh. Strange_.

She hadn't even said anything yet.

“M-marinette? The—the bakers’ daughter?”

“Yeah, her. She’s kinda cute, don’t you think?” She kept her voice light, though it was funny how fidgety Chat seemed to be getting as he caught on. 

“Yeah, she—she’s pretty cute, I guess.” Ladybug fought her growing smile. “If I may ask, M’lady, why do you ask?”

His voice sounded almost strained, which was such a pleasant contrast from Adrien's silence earlier today that Marinette had to suppress a relieved sigh. 

She was still sad about missing her chance with Adrien, of course, but if she were to go off the way her partner was refusing to make eye contact with her at the moment, it seemed like maybe she didn’t have to worry too much about Chat hiding some secret relationship from her.

“Oh, no real reason, I guess,” she said calmly. “Yesterday, I saw something online called ‘Maribug.’ Apparently people think the two of us would make a good couple,” she laughed breezily, before turning back to Chat. “What do you think?”

His face went redder than she might’ve ever seen it, and she was almost concerned he’d lose his balance and fall off the roof as he stammered out, “Oh, you mean— _oh_ , as in, you and Marinette, Maribug, of course, yes, clever.”

“I know, such a cute name. But what do you think of it?”

“Uh, I—wouldn’t that be dangerous? You know, for her?” Ladybug didn’t know if she liked his opposition to her dating someone else or his attempt to protect Marinette more, so of course she had to drag this out just a bit longer.

“I know we could protect her. And she did a pretty nice job herself with that one akuma, remember?”

“That’s true. . .”

“So? What do you think?”

“I think—actually, would you look at that, is that an akuma over there? No? Better check anyway!” he exclaimed, before jumping off the roof.

Ladybug laughed, before standing up to follow him. _He really can be cute, sometimes_.

(She tried not to focus on that too much, though, for two reasons: one, she was in love with Adrien, wasn’t she?)

(And two: being in love with two guys is both unfair and _exhausting_ , so, no, she did _not_ love her partner.)

_(But he is cute.)_

More importantly, though, Marinette felt it safe to say that Chat Noir hadn’t been lying to her. He wasn’t keeping secrets, no intimate ties with Adrien, he was still in love with—

Well, okay, maybe she really _should_ go follow Chat now.

_Time to finally put this all behind me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> marinette is safe and adrichat definitely isn't a thing, right
> 
> (spoiler alert: adrien will _not_ let her put this all behind her)


	3. Chat... drien?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just how genuine is Maribug, really? And how is Adrien holding up for it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay this chapter isn't good enough to make up for how long it's been, but it's still pretty good probably!!
> 
> (long story short, I remembered I really love Starkid, watched many, many musicals, and maybe lost myself to tgwdlm for a month...)

Week two of the Adrichat Incident was looking to not be an incident at all, if you were to ask Marinette. 

Of course, Alya had spent the rest of last week hounding Marinette for details on her “feelings” for Ladybug— _For how long? Does Ladybug know? Does this mean you’ve given up on you-know-who?_

_(I don’t know, no, it’s complicated?)_

Adrien had been weirdly silent about his feelings for her partner—either that, or Marinette had been doing such a good job of _backing the hell off_ that she hadn’t even noticed. Both of which were fine, of course, because this was officially no longer her jurisdiction ( _not that it ever really was, but whatever._ )

Chat Noir, for his part, had been acting. . . _distracted_ was a good word for it. Ever since her little _Maribug_ intervention, he’d been a strange mix of distant and yet weirdly present (he already had a tendency to stare at her when he thought she wasn’t looking, but now he was somehow doing it even _more_ ). Also, the blushing. A lot of blushing.

All in all, Marinette figured this was more positive than not. After all, Chat was obviously still at least a little in love with her. Which, no, was still not good, because Ladybug did _not_ love him, nope, not even a little _thank you very much_. 

But, at least it meant he wasn’t hiding anything from her. 

\-----

Nino, bless him, was the same as always. 

(Save for the small bi pride pin that appeared on his backpack overnight.)

\-----

_“Plagg! Code red! Emergency! Get the candles!”_

Those had been the first words Adrien had said to Plagg nearly a week ago, after Ladybug had confirmed she reciprocated Marinette’s feelings and basically ripped his heart out. 

He’d been so incredibly thrown off by it all that he had _completely forgotten_ that he was supposed to be in love with Chat Noir—he’d hardly said anything about it at school, and he was pretty certain if he didn’t soon, then people might start to get suspicious.

As in, remember that there had been some sort of link between Adrien and Chat Noir, just not the kind of link he’d wanted them to think was there.

Also, there was the problem of _Ladybug is in love with Marinette! Who is also in love with her!_

“Whoa, kid, slow down. Did Ladybug actually _say_ she was in love with Marinette?”

Adrien stopped the pacing he’d been doing ever since he’d gotten home from school that day (just like the day before, and the day before that). 

“Well, those. . . might not have been the words she used.” Now that he stopped to think about it, Ladybug hadn’t said much at all about her actual feelings for his classmate, but also: “She—she did call her cute, though, and. . . and she wanted to know if I thought they’d make a good couple!”

Plagg sighed, swallowing a slice of camembert in one go—he’d been eating a lot of it lately, even for him, Adrien noticed. “Adrien, I’m pretty certain all of Paris thinks Marinette is cute.” _You’ve called her adorable four times already this week_. “And who knows? Maybe she was just curious. Or teasing.”

If he were in his Chat suit, Adrien’s ears would’ve perked up. “Teasing?”

Plagg didn’t answer, already on a new cheese dish. 

_Teasing? As in, seeing how I’d react? But—but what about—_

“What about Marinette? Does that mean Ladybug’s leading her on?” Adrien asked. “Because—because—” 

Because the thought of someone, _anyone_ , messing with Marinette’s feelings like that—even his Lady—just didn’t sit right with him for some reason. Because Marinette was sweet, and kind, and quite literally all things good in this world, and if she’d fallen in love, she deserved to be loved in return. 

“Have you considered that maybe you’re reading too far into Marinette’s feelings?” Plagg said finally, interrupting Adrien’s inner self-righteous, totally-just-friends monologue. “Pretty sure Alya’s the one who always brings up Marinette’s ‘crush’ on Ladybug. Who knows, maybe she’s just got a thing for superheroes.” _Or maybe she_ is _a superhero and you’re just an idiot!_

“A thing. . . for superheroes?” 

Marinette’s words from last week flashed through his head— _do you think I’d ever have a chance with someone like her?_

_Someone like her._

As in, potentially, heroes in general. As in, could she also like. . . _no, no, that’s a weird thing to think about someone who’s just a friend._

“Marinette does seem to be going along with Alya more than anything else. . . and she does always seem a little uncomfortable talking about it. . .” 

_Except for when she called Ladybug hot. That was definitely sincere. But who could blame her?_

Still, though, something about this just didn’t feel quite right. Despite his kwami’s incredibly sound reasoning, Adrien still couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe Marinette genuinely _did_ have a thing for his partner.

Not that he’d give up on his Lady anytime soon, but he also couldn’t bear the thought of being the reason Marinette was kept from the one she loved. (Which. Was still a big if, he knew, but he still wanted to be _certain_ ).

But Marinette was his friend, right? As both his hero and civilian self, Adrien liked to think the two of them were on pretty good terms. Maybe. . . maybe even good enough for him to simply talk this out with her, and just find out for himself how his just-friend felt about the love of his life.

Adrien looked up to Plagg, deciding not to ask for advice on this one. _Don’t worry, I’ve got this._

_“Plagg, claws out!”_

\-----

Adrien had spent entire _minutes_ crafting his plan—he figured that if he showed up (unannounced) and poured his heart out about the woes of the difficult romance between a superhero and civilian, Marinette might be encouraged to do the same. At best, she wouldn’t be able to sympathize, and Chat would know for sure her supposed crush on Ladybug was just that: a harmless crush. At worst, he was fully prepared to become part of a clichéd love triangle (so long as he got the girl). 

What he _wasn’t_ expecting was for Marinette to look on the verge of tears the moment he opened his mouth. 

“Wait, Marinette, are you okay?” Chat asked, crossing the room maybe a little too fast, judging by the way Marinette flinched, taking a step backwards. 

Chat Noir was used to messing up—not even in a sad, self-pitying way. He just genuinely tended to be a dumbass from time to time, and he was okay with that. But even as he replayed the last few minutes in his head, he couldn’t figure out what he’d done wrong that had seemingly upset his friend so much.

He’d burst in through her trapdoor without warning, sure, but that was _their thing_. (Him showing up randomly, that is. Not the whole breaking-in thing.) And then he’d just launched right into his laments on the “struggles of trying to date Adrien Agreste, renowned model, incredibly nice guy, and all-around perfect boyfriend.” 

But he was only halfway into his intricate detailing on just how difficult their circumstances were proving to be when he saw what could only be _tears_ beginning to well up in Marinette’s eyes, and he dropped the act immediately.

“Did I say something? You can tell me, if I did.” And she really could, because despite the fact that she nearly refused to talk to his civilian self, at the very least Adrien knew that Chat Noir very much _was_ her friend. 

He stopped himself from reaching up to brush away her tears before they’d even fallen—if he really had done something to make her uncomfortable, he certainly didn’t want to risk making it any worse. 

“Huh?” Marinette finally said, bringing a hand up to her cheek only to find it wet. “Oh, no, Chat, you’re fine!” she laughed, though it sounded very forced to Chat.

“Are you sure? Are you sure it wasn’t something I said?” Because last time he checked, people didn’t usually randomly start crying during conversations for no reason, and he seemed to be the only possible _reason_ at the moment.

And he really, _really_ did not want that. The thought of making Marinette sad. . . _tugged_ at something in his chest in a way that he couldn’t quite explain.

“Yeah, yeah, of course I’m fine! You’re fine! Everything is fine!” Oh—oh _no_. She was going into Adrien-mode. As in, short sentences, avoiding eye contact, and in general doing very little to convince Chat that he _wasn’t_ actually the problem. 

“Are. . . are you sure you’re okay?”

“Of course! Why wouldn’t I be?” Chat cut a glance to the corner of her eye, where stray tears were still threatening to fall. Her hands, which had been waving around frantically, shot up to rub at her face. “Oh, that? That’s, uh, that’s because—”

She was still refusing to look at him, her eyes instead darting around her room as she continued to stammer. If Chat had any reason to question her, he’d say it sounded like she was looking for an excuse. But, of course, that made no sense, so he didn’t give that much thought.

Until.

“That’s because, well. . . Because I’m having those same problems! Yeah!” she finished, and Chat’s heart sank as she threw her head into her hands. “That whole doomed relationship thing! It’s so _hard_ being in love with a superhero!” 

Marinette was crying again, and Chat didn’t know how to respond. Her change in demeanor was just so sudden, and so extreme, it was almost as if. . .

“Difficult circumstances! Star-crossed lovers! The woes, _all the woes!_ ”

It was almost as if. . .

Marinette was _lying_.

“Yeah, yeah, the woes, definitely,” Chat said, as his brain struggled to keep pace.

Now, he obviously didn’t want to outright accuse Marinette, one of his _best friends_ , of lying. Because who was he to say that she didn’t really love Ladybug? His partner was, after all, amazingly brave, and beautiful, and kind, and smart, and—

_Focus_. Ladybug was incredible, and Chat wouldn’t be surprised if half of Paris was in love with her. But, something about the way Marinette was behaving just felt off somehow, as if she didn’t really mean any of this.

And that’s when he noticed the blush slowly crawling up the back of her neck.

(Now, it was a little known secret to only her closest friends, but Marinette, though she rarely outright lied, had a tell for when she did. _She blushed_.)

_(Maybe she should start keeping her hair down to hide that.)_

The point: _she really is lying!_

Chat wasn’t entirely certain why, or for how long, but of one thing he _was_ certain: Marinette was not in love with Ladybug. Which left two possible explanations:

One, Plagg was right, and Marinette (and, by proxy, Ladybug) was just messing with him for unknown reasons.

Two: Marinette actually _was_ in love with a superhero, just not Ladybug, meaning. . . _Nope. Not thinking about that. Not now._

Anyway. Back to option one: they were teasing him. He didn’t exactly know why, or if Marinette’s crying had started as fake (or if she was just a really good actress), but what he _did_ know was that, no matter what, _he was winning this._

Ladybug wanted teasing? He'd give them teasing. 

“Woes aside, there is one perk to dating Adrien, I guess,” Chat interrupted, cutting off Marinette’s latest burst of fake tears. “He’s a _really_ good kisser.”

More than just the back of Marinette’s neck exploded with blush this time around. 

\-----

Chat Noir finally left after nearly two hours— _two hours!_

“Two hours, Tikki! Two whole hours of _Adrien_ this, _Adrien_ that! Which, okay, is maybe how I tend to sound, but I, specifically, did _not_ want to be having that conversation!”

Tikki was trying not to laugh as she listened to Marinette’s rant. Almost as soon as Chat had disappeared back through the trapdoor, Marinette had thrown herself onto her bed and was currently holding back less-than-fake tears. Tikki was grateful that Marinette had yet to lift her head; she knew her holder was genuinely distressed, but Tikki still couldn’t hold back her smile.

She’d caught on to Chat Noir’s game, and now just needed the same for Marinette. 

“And it’s not like I didn’t expect it! Well, okay, I _didn’t_ , but _still!_ I’m the unluckiest girl in Paris! Of _course_ this is happening!”

_“Marinette!”_ Tikki finally interrupted, thinking of how she could phrase all of this. “Calm down! I know this seems bad, but. . . take a second to think about it!”

Marinette slowly rolled over, staring dead-eyed at the ceiling. “What is there left to think about, Tikki?” she asked. “Chat doesn’t love Ladybug anymore, he’s got Adrien now. They’re dating, it’s too late, and—and— _and I was right about Adrien being a good kisser!”_

And just like that, she launched into a whole new series of sobs. Tikki had patience—more than Plagg, that’s for sure—but she did draw a line _somewhere._

“Marinette!” She lifted her head up, and Tikki lost just a bit of her impatience. _It’s not her fault she can’t see how all of this is lining up_. “Marinette, listen to me. I know what happened with Chat was. . . upsetting.”

Marinette nodded, wiping at her face. “It’s just—I just—I _knew_ Adrien loved him, I just didn’t think Chat was _serious_. I thought—I really thought he loved me!” Tikki didn’t interrupt her this time, not yet. 

“I know it’s selfish, but I _liked_ that he loved me! It was—I don’t know, reassuring! _Comforting!_ And I was starting to feel like maybe—like maybe I—” _Go on, Marinette! You’re almost there! Like you what?_

“Like maybe I—” Her voice broke, and she was lost once again. Tikki sighed. Well, progress was progress, she figured. 

“Marinette, don’t you think it’s weird that Chat only brought this up after you started the rumor you were dating Ladybug? Doesn’t his behavior seem a bit, I don’t know, _sudden_ to you?”

As Marinette’s kwami, she wasn’t actually able to tell her exactly what was going on. But she sure could come _close_ , and Marinette had proven before that subtle signs went right over her head. 

“Sudden? What do you mean?”

“Don’t you think it’s a bit odd that you went nearly a week hearing nothing about Adrien and Chat, and now all of a sudden _this?”_

Marinette thought for a second. “Well, I mean, Adrien was pretty quiet. . . but I was trying to block it out! But, then again, Chat’s always been pretty obvious about how he feels, and that did feel a bit out of place. . .”

“And so. . .?”

“And so. . . does that mean he. . . he’s. . .” Marinette gasped, bolting upright in bed and nearly crashing into Tikki. 

_“He’s faking it too?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Game set: who will break first? And why? Why is this even a thing that they care about?
> 
> (you know why)
> 
> (also, if anyone reading this also likes starkid, the Marinette "huh?" line is in charlotte's voice when I read it)


End file.
